Texas
The other Death Valley: hundreds of migrants are dying in remote Texas deserts
Eddie Canales can’t overlook the second he noticed the decomposed physique of a younger man in his 20s hanging from an oak tree on a south Texas ranch final September.
The extraordinary warmth and humidity on this arid scrubland had rapidly rotted his flesh to show a lot of the skeleton, which had been on the scene for no less than per week.
Clearly seen in a graphic picture the sheriff’s workplace offered to the Guardian was the cranium, lolling to 1 facet. And each his ft are lacking, most likely eaten by wild animals.
The person was from Mexico, in accordance with ID paperwork discovered. Police explored the chance it was a lynching, however concluded it was suicide.
“Many of the our bodies I encounter are already skeletonised,” mentioned Canales, who runs the South Texas Human Rights Heart, a non-profit primarily based in Brooks county, Texas, working to place an finish to the avoidable, harsh deaths, and reunite households with the stays of family members.
“However this was significantly harrowing. That picture will stick with me without end,” he added.
Brooks county covers nearly 1,000 sq. miles of sparse, brush-covered, sandy ranch lands not removed from the jap finish of the US-Mexico border and is on the coronary heart of a lethal migration disaster that’s seeing determined folks die in document numbers.
So excessive is the grim toll that the encompassing area, spanning a number of Texas counties close to the Rio Grande, has been known as the opposite Demise Valley.
Information bears out that horrible nickname: the Lacking Migrants Undertaking, an initiative by the Swiss-based Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM) that tracks migrant deaths and disappearances globally, recorded 715 deaths of individuals making an attempt to cross the US border from Mexico in 2021 – greater than double the determine in 2015, making it the deadliest land crossing on the earth.
Of the 4 US states alongside the border, Texas has the longest stretch and the very best variety of migrant deaths, in accordance with a report by the College of Texas’s Strauss Heart. Brooks county, the place authorities recovered 119 our bodies final 12 months, has had extra deaths than another Texas county over the past three many years.
“We’re struggling to cope with all of the our bodies,” mentioned Don White, county deputy sheriff. Final 12 months the county was supplied with a cellular morgue by the state in response to the grisly human reaping. “I just lately needed to decide up three contemporary ones in a day,” he mentioned.
Exterior consultants imagine that federal immigration insurance policies have exacerbated the tragedy, forcing migrants into ever-more perilous crossings, and main refugee journeys – fleeing violence, persecution and local weather catastrophe – to an anguished useless finish.
Eva Moya, an affiliate professor on the College of Texas learning the precarity confronted by migrants, says the Migrant Safety Protocols (MPP), often known as “Stay in Mexico” – a coverage launched in 2019 underneath the Trump administration – has resulted in additional than 70,000 folks being despatched again into Mexico to attend for his or her US court docket circumstances, usually for prolonged intervals in makeshift camps, the place they’re usually denied primary well being care and face violence, rape, homicide and kidnappings by organised crime teams.
“The chance continues to extend,” says Moya. “Asylum seekers in Mexico are fearing for his or her lives and smugglers are benefiting from that. They may do something to make revenue from these folks. It’s human trafficking at its max.”
The Biden administration is lastly ending the coverage, after court docket battles, but it surely’s unclear how and when issues will change considerably on the bottom.
On the similar time, Title 42, ostensibly a pandemic-related well being measure launched in 2020, closing border ports of entry and permitting Border Patrol to summarily expel migrants with out asylum hearings, has exacerbated the deaths in Brooks county and past, mentioned Alma Maquitico, director of the Nationwide Community for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
“Title 42 has led to an increase in deaths,” she mentioned. “Individuals aren’t crossing at cities any extra, however in additional faraway, harmful areas. They’re dying within the desert.”
Canales additionally pointed to the agricultural, arid expanse.
“That is the actual Demise Valley,” he mentioned, contrasting it with its scorching desert namesake in California.
“The immigration system has failed. The federal government desires responsible the cartel however not the coverage that’s creating this downside. The answer is to supply an ordered asylum pathway. You can repair this tomorrow,” he added.
A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Safety (CBP), which oversees the Border Patrol’s 20,000 brokers working between the land ports of entry, mentioned the dying toll was the fault of traffickers.
“Felony organisations proceed to recklessly endanger the lives of people they smuggle for their very own monetary acquire with no regard for human life,” they mentioned in a press release. “Regardless of these inherent risks, smugglers proceed to mislead migrants, claiming the borders are open. The borders are usually not open, and folks shouldn’t try and make the harmful journey.”
Though Brooks county is about 70 miles from the US-Mexico border, it has the most important border patrol checkpoint in Texas. Situated alongside US Freeway 281, one of many few northbound highways alongside the a whole lot of miles- lengthy south Texas border area, Border Patrol processes a mean 10,000 automobiles – traversing the busiest route from Mexico and Central America to the US – every day.
Like different deterrence insurance policies, the checkpoint, as a substitute of decreasing the quantity migrants making an attempt to enter, has pushed them into lethal routes, in accordance with deputy sheriff Don White.
Individuals smugglers, usually generally known as coyotes, demand 1000’s of {dollars} to assist migrants cross the Rio Grande on rafts, normally to McAllen, Texas, the place they may conceal in soiled, cramped protected homes.
Migrants will then be dropped off 50 miles north on sandy backroads, earlier than being despatched on a days-long trek throughout brutal terrain, the place temperatures often exceed 100F throughout the ever-hotter Texas summers and drop under freezing in winter, as a way to keep away from the checkpoint.
In keeping with Oscar Carrillo, a sheriff in Culberson county, which can be coping with a surge in our bodies, smugglers usually ship teams of migrants in camouflage gear in addition to with backpacks of hashish, permitting them to scale back the charges owed by delivering the contraband to a contact, in the event that they survive the journey.
In February 2020, Carrillo apprehended a gaggle of greater than 50 folks en route. “They’re given an itinerary like a cruise line,” says Carrillo. “There’s been an enormous rise in makes an attempt to cross. However it’s a harmful place – there are snakes, mountain lions. If they will’t proceed, they’ll be left behind.”
For many who make it over the primary hurdles in an try to achieve densely populated cities reminiscent of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, the place they will reside underneath the radar of the authorities, the danger is way from over.
In June, 53 immigrants, principally from Mexico, have been discovered useless inside a sweltering tractor-trailer on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas, in what was the nation’s deadliest smuggling incident alongside the US-Mexico border to this point.
Since 1999, greater than 7,500 migrants from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and past are estimated to have died on the US-Mexico border, in accordance with knowledge from the CBP.
Most of those deaths will be attributed to heatstroke or dehydration, in accordance with Canales, who maintains 90 water stations out within the brush.
But the actual variety of deaths might be far greater, he mentioned, because of restricted knowledge and an absence of assist from federal authorities.
Since 95% of land on the southern border of Texas – and 99% in Brooks county – is personal, ranchers and farmers on the distant plots – some as giant as 50,000 acres – are sometimes those that uncover the just lately or long-deceased folks. Brooks county sheriff’s workplace estimates it finds just one out of each 5 our bodies.
“It’s a burden that falls on volunteers,” mentioned Canales. “It’s normally us who need to cope with the our bodies.”
But Canales and his workforce of volunteers can solely obtain a lot. Evaluation by the Heart for Public Integrity discovered that greater than 2,000 of the our bodies of migrants recovered within the US haven’t been recognized. The Nationwide Institute of Justice has known as the continuing tragedy of lacking individuals, which leaves households unable to correctly mourn, the “nation’s silent mass catastrophe”.
Jonathan Alberto Callejas Corado, then 25, disappeared in June 2021 when he was trying to cross from Mexico via Brooks county. The Guatemalan deliberate to affix his aunt and uncle in Los Angeles, however he has been lacking ever since.
“We don’t know if he’s alive or useless,” Glenda Corado, his aunt, informed the Guardian. “It’s very painful for us. We are able to’t mourn as a result of we don’t know what occurred.”
In an try to search out her misplaced nephew, final heard from on this distant nook of the nation that has turn out to be an open-air cemetery, she has visited the Guatemalan consulate, human rights organisations and even the headquarters of Border Patrol.
“We’ve been given no assist,” says Corado. “The system is damaged. What has occurred to our boy?”
Los Angeles Angels (17-29, fifth in the AL West) vs. Texas Rangers (24-23, second in the AL West)
Arlington, Texas; Sunday, 2:35 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Angels: Jose Soriano (1-4, 3.72 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 38 strikeouts); Rangers: Michael Lorenzen (2-2, 3.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 27 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Rangers -161, Angels +135; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels play on Sunday with the winner claiming the three-game series.
Texas has a 12-12 record at home and a 24-23 record overall. Rangers hitters have a collective .319 on-base percentage, the third-ranked percentage in the AL.
Los Angeles is 11-13 on the road and 17-29 overall. The Angels have a 14-9 record in games when they scored five or more runs.
The teams match up Sunday for the third time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Smith has a .277 batting average to lead the Rangers, and has 12 doubles, a triple and two home runs. Ezequiel Duran is 12-for-30 with an RBI over the past 10 games.
Luis Rengifo has seven doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI for the Angels. Jo Adell is 9-for-36 with a double and four home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 3-7, .222 batting average, 5.60 ERA, outscored by 24 runs
Angels: 4-6, .250 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
INJURIES: Rangers: Max Scherzer: 60-Day IL (back), Evan Carter: day-to-day (back), Josh Sborz: 15-Day IL (rotator cuff), Dane Dunning: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Wyatt Langford: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Nathan Eovaldi: 15-Day IL (groin), Austin Pruitt: 15-Day IL (knee), Brock Burke: 60-Day IL (hand), Cody Bradford: 15-Day IL (back), Justin Foscue: 60-Day IL (oblique strain), Joshua Jung: 60-Day IL (wrist), Tyler Mahle: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jacob deGrom: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carson Coleman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Angels: Luis Rengifo: 10-Day IL (viral infection), Ehire Adrianza: 10-Day IL (back), Brandon Drury: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Kelvin Caceres: 60-Day IL (undisclosed), Anthony Rendon: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Chase Silseth: 60-Day IL (elbow), Miguel Sano: 10-Day IL (knee), Mike Trout: 10-Day IL (meniscus), Michael Stefanic: 60-Day IL (quadricep), Jose Cisnero: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Robert William Stephenson: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Guillermo Zuniga: 15-Day IL (pectoral strain), Sam Bachman: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jose Quijada: 60-Day IL (elbow)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
It’s been a busy week at West Texas A&M University, as the school moves from spring graduations to the summer sessions. For a full list of names and hometowns of those recently honored, see the WT newsroom website.
WT New Student Orientation sessions set to begin May 30-31
CANYON — West Texas A&M University New Student Orientation sessions will begin May 30 and 31 for incoming freshmen. Seven are scheduled through Aug. 19 and 20, and several sessions are already full.
“We are excited to welcome our incoming freshmen to WT during New Student Orientation. Our staff and student leaders have been busy preparing since January to introduce these new students to the campus, culture, traditions and family of WT,” said Amanda Lawson, senior director of orientation and academic success. The overnight programs introduce new students to the campus and community. All new freshmen are placed in small groups with a current student leader.
Families also can attend an informal social hour at 6:30 p.m. on the first day of each NSO at Sad Monkey Mercantile, 9800 Texas Highway 217, near the entrance of Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
To attend the sessions, interested students must visit wtamu.edu/nso to complete a pre-orientation information module and select a date. Up to 150 students can be accommodated at each session. Sessions are a day-and-a-half long and can either include all six of WT’s Colleges or three of the colleges at a time to offer students more flexibility in scheduling.
Upcoming NSO sessions will include:
- May 30- 31 for all Colleges (full);
- June 6-7 for Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences (full), Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business, College of Engineering (full) and College of Nursing and Health Sciences;
- June 13-14 for Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences (full), Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities, and College of Nursing and Health Sciences (full);
- June 27-28 for Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Engler College of Business, College of Engineering (full) and College of Nursing and Health Sciences (full);
- July 18-19 for all Colleges; `
- July 30-31 for Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences, Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities, and College of Nursing and Health Sciences; and
- Aug. 19-20 for all Colleges.
Online orientation sessions also are available for high school students enrolled in dual-credit courses through WT’s Pre-University Programs, and for students who wish to enroll temporarily before returning to their home institution.
Newest issue of The Brand, student-driven ag magazine, available now
CANYON — Consistency is the spotlight in the newest issue of The Brand, the annual publication of West Texas A&M University’s Department of Agricultural Sciences.
“Not only is consistency important in this edition of The Brand and storytelling in general, but consistency is important in life. We encouraged writers to remain diligent and consistent during this course. We feel these qualities lead to efficient prioritizing, ability to achieve milestones and greater confidence in the agriculture industry,” said Lauren Fritzler, The Brand’s editor and a senior agricultural media and communication major from Merino, Colorado.
The edition — which was unveiled during a May 10 brunch — will hit the mailboxes of Department of Agricultural Sciences donors and alumni this week and be posted online soon, said Dr. Tanner Robertson, adviser and associate professor of agricultural media and communication.
The spring 2024 edition features Bob Phipps, a man who represents the essence of a true agriculturist, embodying dedication, and generosity. This story traces his tracks from a Panhandle-Plains farm to an Amarillo townhome. Despite challenges such as childhood polio, Phipps’ resilience and commitment to farming never wavered, said Fritzler, who wrote the story. Over the years, he has sharpened his skills as a farmer and become renowned for his strategic approach to production agriculture. Phipps recently donated his collection of John Deere model tractors and memorabilia to the agriculture department.
Other stories highlight the “Texas” outdoor musical showcasing the deep roots in agriculture, the recent change in administration in the department, the 2024 national champion meat judging team, the generous Kuhlman land donation, and Benjamin Azamati, a 2023 graduate who now is an Olympic athlete.
In addition to Fritzler, the 2024 Brand executive staff members are creative director Macy Downs, a senior from Plains; advertising manager Kristina Todd, a senior from Wills Point; assistant editor Paige Brandon, a senior from Edgewood, New Mexico; and event and social media manager Brooklyn Spencer, a senior from Porter, Oklahoma, as well as numerous staff writers, including Lauryn Carroll-Mangum from Canyon; Rylee Finley from Amarillo; Caleb Frick from Amarillo; and Rylee Harris from Canyon.
WT psychology professor researching developing brains wins major fellowship
CANYON — A West Texas A&M University professor is the university’s first Twanna M. Powell Fellow and will receive a $50,000 award to further her research into the effects of psychiatric medications on developing brains.
Dr. Maxine De Butte was announced as a Powell Fellow during the University’s May 11 commencement ceremonies. De Butte is a professor of psychology and associate department head in the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Social Work in the Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences.
“It is a great honor to be named the first Powell Fellow, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” De Butte said. “This award is a personal achievement, and it has inspired me to continue pushing boundaries and exploring new research avenues in clinical neuroscience.”
As a Powell Fellow, De Butte will receive $50,000, plus additional University resources, to use at her discretion to further her research into the possible cognitive effects adult psychiatric medications may have on pediatric patients, whose brains are still developing. She will use animal models for the studies.
WT’s Engler College of Business recognizes community, student leaders
CANYON — Top business students and community leaders were honored at a recent year-end event held by West Texas A&M University’s Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business. Nearly 100 Buffs were commended as outstanding students or inducted into honor societies ahead of the May 11 commencement ceremonies at the university.
“Our annual year-end symposium is a highlight of our academic calendar, celebrating the excellence and success of our students and showcasing their outstanding achievements across various disciplines within the college,” said Dr. Amjad Abdullat, dean. “Their accomplishments not only fill us with pride but also affirm the transformative power of education and their potential to make significant contributions to society. As they move forward into their futures, they carry with them our best wishes and the undeniable promise of greatness.”
Cristian Bustillos, a senior finance major from Muleshoe, was named outstanding undergraduate student. Sierra Kane, an MBA student from Amarillo, was named outstanding graduate student.
Seven undergraduates also were recognized as outstanding students across the several disciplines in the Engler College of Business:
- Accounting: Shae’La McKinley, a senior from Canyon;
- Computer Information Systems: Allison Hunter, a senior from Borger;
- Economics: Christopher Brooks, a December graduate from Amarillo who’s now pursuing a master’s degree in finance and economics;
- Finance: Chelsey Baca, a senior from Amarillo;
- General Business: Daniella Ramos, a senior from Amarillo;
- Management: Blake Wilson, a senior from Lamar, Colorado; and
- Marketing: Aubry Johnson, a senior from Amarillo.
Four graduate students also were honored as outstanding students:
- Computer Information Systems and Business Analytics: Josh Correa from Amarillo;
- MBA: Mehrdad Samimi from Karaj, Iran;
- Finance and Economics: Emma Rector from Friona; and
- Professional Accounting: Emma Weinheimer from Groom.
Abdullat also presented significant community leaders with special awards, and student leadership awards were presented to outstanding members of various organizations, along with multiple other honors, which can be found online on the WT news site.
50th Class of WT nurses celebrated at annual pinning ceremony
CANYON — The 50th class of West Texas A&M University nurses officially was welcomed to the profession in a special pre-commencement observance.
WT’s Laura and Joe Street School of Nursing’s annual pinning ceremony — held May 10 in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT’s Canyon campus — recognized 60 students graduated May 11.
Alumni from the first class of WT nurses also attended the ceremony, including former Texas First Lady Anita Thigpen Perry, a WT Distinguished Alumna.
Pinning ceremonies are an opportunity to recognize the students’ hard work and dedication in their clinicals and in classwork, marking the transition from student to nurse, said Dr. Holly Jeffries, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. “WT’s pin is one of the most striking, and it’s worn with pride by those who earn it,” Jeffreys said. “By presenting these pins, professional nurses warmly welcome graduates into the profession of nursing, and WT alumni welcome these graduates into the ever-growing family of WT nursing graduates.”
Of the 61 graduates, all but six will remain in the area in jobs across the Texas Panhandle, said Dr. Collette Loftin, interim head of the Street School of Nursing. Additionally, many will return to WT to begin work on graduate degrees. Students take the Nightingale Pledge, named for Florence Nightingale, known as the mother of modern nursing.
WT business students raise thousands for wildfire relief, other charities
CANYON — West Texas A&M University business students raised more than $13,000 for Panhandle-area charities, including several agencies connected to the historic wildfires that tore through the area in March.
Students were assigned to run a philanthropic project for the Leadership and Teamwork course taught by Dr. Kelly Davis McCauley, associate and Engler Professor of Management in the Department of Management, Marketing and General Business in the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business.
The College made matching donations through funds made available by the historic $80 million donation from the late Dr. Paul Engler and his foundation. The 24 students were allowed to select charities that were meaningful to them. The lineup included the Hope and Healing Place, Hartley Fire and EMS, Hope Lives Here, Kids Inc., and the Panhandle Disaster Relief Fund.
Among the fundraising tactics used by the students were obtaining goods and services from local businesses for silent auctions on campus and online; bake sales; dodgeball and 3-on-3 basketball tournaments; and direct solicitations of donations.
The University of Texas won’t depart for the Southeastern Conference without at least one more game against Texas Tech.
The Texas Tech baseball team will face Texas at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the Big 12 tournament at Globe Life Field in Arlington. It’s the last of four first-round games. Tech (31-24) is the No. 10 seed and Texas (35-20) the No. 3 seed.
Texas won two of three games against Tech on the first weekend of Big 12 play.
Saturday was the last day of the Big 12 regular-season schedule.
Texas completed a three-game sweep of Kansas, but Oklahoma State clinched the No. 2 seed by sweeping a doubleheader at Houston. Oklahoma State played two fewer games than Texas — two of its last four regular-season conference games being rained out — and finished with a higher conference winning percentage than the Longhorns.
Conference champion Oklahoma (34-18) as the No. 1 seed and Oklahoma State (37-16) as the No. 2 seed have byes in the 10-team bracket and don’t have to play until Wednesday.
Tuesday’s other first-round games pit No. 6 seed Kansas State (31-22) against No. 7 seed Kansas (29-21) at 9 a.m., No. 4 seed West Virginia (33-20) against No. 9 seed TCU (31-19) at 12:30 p.m. and No. 5 seed Cincinnati (31-23) against No. 8 seed Central Florida (33-18) at 4 p.m.
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If Tech beats Texas, the Red Raiders would play Oklahoma State at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. If Tech loses to Texas, the Red Raiders would play the Cincinnati-UCF loser at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Tech finished the regular-season with three non-conference games in Phoenix, starting with 21-5 loss to Arizona State on Thursday night. On Friday, the Red Raiders beat Nevada-Las Vegas 13-12 and lost to Arizona State 17-11.
Because of the short turnaround before the start of the Big 12 tournament, Tech starting pitchers Kyle Robinson and Ryan Free pitched only one and two innings, respectively, in Phoenix.
High-leverage relief pitcher Trendan Parish, out since April 1 because of injury, returned and pitched 1 1/3 innings in Friday’s game against Arizona State. The junior righthander retired all four batters he faced.
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